A nation of descendants : politics and the practice of genealogy in U.S. history / Francesca Morgan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Morgan, Francesca, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Genealogy.

United States.

Genealogy.

Genre:

Genealogy.

Family histories.

Physical Description:

301 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2021]

Summary:

"Contending that the U.S. was the earliest western country to embrace genealogy on a mass level, Francesca Morgan traces Americans' fascination with tracking family lineage from the early republic to the present day, showing how it evolved from a largely elite phenomenon practiced by white men of western European descent to a commercial enterprise reaching people of diverse backgrounds. In the first half of the book, Morgan examines how specific groups throughout history grappled with finding and recording their forebears, focusing on Anglo/White, Mormon, African American, Jewish, and Native American people. Morgan devotes the second half of the book the practice of genealogy in the modern era, analyzing of how individuals and researchers have used genealogy for personal and scholarly purposes. Morgan also explores the commercialization and commodification of genealogy, powered by entrepreneurs that span from local businesspeople to the Church of Latter-Day Saints and from companies like Ancestry.com to Skip Gates's Finding Your Roots series"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I Arguments about Exclusion before the 1960s

ch. One I Could Love Them, Too: Genealogy Practices and White Supremacy

ch. Two Yours, for the Dead: Mormonism's Linking of Genealogy with Worship

ch. Three Hereditary Greatness: Early Genealogical Efforts among Native Americans, African Americans, and American Jews

pt. II Arguments about Inclusion: Spectacle and Commerce

ch. Four There Has Not Been Such a Book: Precedents for Alex Haley's Roots after 1945

ch. Five Diversification and Discontentment: Roots (1976-1977) and Its Afterlives

ch. Six Genealogy for Hire and for Profit

ch. Seven Chosen Kin versus Genetic Fetishism: The Traffic in Genealogy-Driven DNA Testing since 1998.

Introduction

pt. I Arguments about exclusion before the 1960s

I could love them, too : genealogy practices and white supremacy

Yours, for the dead : Mormonism's linking of genealogy with worship

Hereditary greatness : early genealogical efforts among Native Americans, African Americans, and American Jews

pt. II Arguments about inclusion : spectacle and commerce

There has not been such a book : precedents for Alex Haley's Roots after 1945

Diversification and discontentment : Roots (1976-1977) and its afterlives

Genealogy for hire and for profit

Chosen kin versus genetic fetishism : the traffic in genealogy-driven DNA testing since 1998

Epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9781469664774

1469664771

9781469664781

146966478X

OCLC:

1236896671